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(No Model. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. S PALMER.

METHOD OF PREPARING HOLLOW STOCK FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF JEWELRY.

Pa1 ;gpted May 22. 1888.

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' J. S. PAL ER.

METHOD OF PREPARING HOLLOW SI'OO FOR. THE MANUFACTURE OF JEWELRY.

No. 383,238. Patented May 22, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. PALMER, OF IltOVIlilCNt'il l, RIIODE ISLAND.

METHOD OF PREPARING HOLLOW STOCK FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF JEWELRY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,238, dated lt'lTciy 22, 1888.

Application lilrd January I, 1895 To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JonN S. PALMER, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Ithode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'lhinning or Shaving Away Parts of Ilated Shells in the Manufacture of Jewelry; and I do hereby dcclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of" reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In the manufacture of linger-rings, chains, or other articles ofjcwelry from plated metalthat is, from metal shells or thimbles, which are composed of a base metal surfaced, plated, or overlaid with a more precious metal, such gold-the process, as hitherto practiced by me, of drawing these shells through the drawing plate or plates, necessarily leaves the outer plate of surfacing gold with a thickness substantially uniform, so that the gold in the finished articles ofjewel ry fabricated there from is just as thick where (as in a fingerring) but little wear comes, as in those parts where there is the greatest wear.

The object of my present method is to improve these drawn or reduced shells after they have been thus elongated by drawing, and to cause such parts of the shell as need but little gold to be shaven, scraped, or planed oil" by the die itself as the shell is punched or forced through the die or succession of dies, 1

and whereby those portions of the shell which it is desired to preserve in greater and suffieient thick ness shall not be further reduced, nor shavcn, scraped, or planed, the process thus permitting the article to be of much greater durability and to last longer than usual before the plate can be worn through, while at the same time not in the least increasing the amount of precious metal embodied in it.

I may say here, in a general way, that the shells or thimblcs to be treated by my new method maybe firstshaped and drawn through the die plate or plates (presently to be describcd) substantially in the same manner as shown in my former patents, No. 211,342, dated January 14, 1879; No. .3l5,5.lli, dated Serial No, Zirll ll (No model.)

May 20, i879, and No. 3418M, dated June 1, 1855; but in these patents there was no process or provision for cutting oil, planing oil, or scraping off any portions of the precious metal composing the outer plate, or for accom dishing the resullsal lained by my present invention.

I will now proceed to describe my method, aided by the accompanying drawings, serving in a nn-nsure to illustrate it, in whieh- Figure 1 represents a punch or die plate adapted for cutting or scraping or planing from the shell, without drawing out or clongating said shell, a longiludinal portion of the metal. Fig 2 is a kindred plate, adapted, however, to scrape or plane off another por tion-as, for instance, the ridges left by or between the sharp edges in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a pum'leplnle or die, which may be used after these; Fig. 3, an end view of a much-enlarged thimblc prior to being shaved off; Fig. 3, a similar view after being shaved off by the plates. Fig. 4 illustrates an end View of a piece which has been rolled out for ahalfround plain ring from a thimble prepared by my new method; Fig. 5, an elevation of a thimblc much enlarged, but not to the extent shown in 3 and 3". Fig. 5 indicates some gold chips cut off by the cutting edges; Fig. ti, :1 vertical central section in the line .121". of Figs, 1, 2, and 3; Fig. 7 a plan, and Fig. 8 a longitudinal section in the line a? m of Fig. 7, showing adjustable cutters.

Commencing with a shell or thimble composed, as stated, of metal plated with precious metal of substantially uniform thickness, I force or punch it through a punch-plate or die, A, which has an elevated and rounded ridge, 1, surrounding its month, except at certain portions, marked 3, and which ridged portions serve as receiving and guiding edges, but which do not reduce, sever, scrape, or plane away any of the precious metal from the shell, white the portions marked 2 do serve as such cutters, those portions being constituted by leaving or making channels, open spaces, or cuts through such ridge, the inner edges of tl'lesc open spaces being cutting, planing, or scraping edges 4, such edges being the acute angle in the metal formed by the meeting of the plane of the top surface, 5, of the plate with the conical opening 6 in the plate. These cutting-edges may be fixed or adjustaliile and project slightly into the central opening, 4; or, in other words, the receiving or smaller mouth of this opening, instead of being a true circle, may at the parts where the scraping or planing is to take place slightly project into or encroach upon such circle, as shown by way ot illustration in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

The result of my practical experience is that the best ends are attai ned byshaving olTlcngt hwise ot' the shell by a plate, substantially like that shown in l ig. l, tirsta portion of thesnrtacein parallel lines olshallow groovcstoabout the depth required; and then with another punch or die, (see Fig. 2.) adapted for the purpose, to shave ot'tin similar parallel lines of shallow grooves the small ridges lelt between the channels and to about the same depth as before; and next to pass the thimble through a third punclrplate having no channels, such a plate, for instance, as shown in Fig. I This latter plateisnoti-ntended to make anygrooves or channels in the gold, butto leave practically smooth and even that part of the surface which has been previously channeled.

A series of plates like Fig. 15, each smaller than the other will aeeom 'ilish the result, but cannot be guided as well as the channeled plates, and therefore will not cut as evenly.

From the above it will be seen that in practicing my new method the plates used dit't'er l'rom regular or known drawingplatcs, in that they have cuttingedges at any and only certain desired points, and also have rounded edges, which latter serve as a guide to regulate the depth at the cut.

The same punch which nnty have been used to draw the shells with which my new process commences may be employed to push them through my improved cutting plates, aml the three operations of punching them through these novel cut ting plates, of the general character shown in Figs. 1, J, and .l, prepare the shells ready to be rolled out according to the process described in my patent, No. 217,398, dated July 8, 1879.

it will be evident that the cultlug-channels may be dit't'erently arranged as circumstances may demand.

The separate plates can be very cheaply sharpened or reprmlneed.

The chips tsee Fig. PM are compressed or compacted in the act ofcntting, and when leaving the shell are much shorter than the shell. This is the natural result of cutting so nearly at right angles to the length of the thimlole.

By my process I can make much better and Far more durable goods with the same amount of gold by making the articles from heavier plate to commence with, so that when finished they will be thicker where the wear is greatest, and by reason of the shavingthinner where the wear is least.

My cutting-plates are in no sense drawing plates for elongating and drawing down the stock; and it must he remembered that the holes in these my eutting-plates are all of the same size as those in which the shells were last drawn down prior to the commencement of my abovc-deseri bed cutting process, less the projecting cutting edges, which project into the holes of my cutting-plates, and each sueccssive one of my cutting-plates, whether more or less in number, is intended to be at its cutting portion or portions only so much smaller than its preceding one as to be a guide to hold it in proper position for the succeeding cuts.

For many articles of jewelry new manufactured by the trade it will bequite snl'licient to pass the shell through a single plate like that shown in Fig. 3that is, provided with only a single shaving-edge.

.It will bccvidcnt that the cutters, instead of being tixed orintegral with the dic'plate, may, as previously stated, he made separate and adjustable on such plate, or that the gold can be taken off by a milling or grinding process.

I claim- 1. The described method at imparting to plated thimblcs or shells a varying thickness, consisting in submitting the same to the action of reducing devices adapted for shaving ott or otherwise removing the desired portion of the plate at the required parts, substantially as set forth.

2 The described method ot" imparting to plated thimbles or shells a varying thickness of plate, consisting in passing the thimble or shell through die-plates adapted for shaving ot't'or removing a desired portion of the plate at the required parts, substantially as set forth.

JOHN S. PALMER.

\Vit nesses:

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